How to Answer Interrogatories | Security Clearance Law Group (2024)

FAQs

What is the best way to answer interrogatories? ›

Read the question very carefully. Answer only the question that is asked, and avoid the temptation to over-explain your answer. If the question contains several parts, you may break your answer into parts as well. It is also possible that you might object to the question.

For government contractor positions, if all questions have not been resolved by the investigator, the file is sent to the Defense Industrial Security Clearance Office (DISCO). At that point an adjudicator might issue a set of questions for the applicant to answer. These questions are called interrogatories.

Respond to Each Fact

Your responsibility when responding to an SOR is to confirm, deny, or mitigate each item. When attempting to mitigate the facts, you must include documentation to support your case, such as receipts showing that your bad debt was already paid off.

You can use interrogatories to find out facts about a case but they cannot be used for questions that draw a legal conclusion.

Draft Interrogatories Strategically

Only ask specific questions that address the crux of the matter where possible. Avoid board or vague questions. The opposing party's legal team may simply file objections against these, citing irrelevance, wasting your time. Also, ask questions sequentially.

Be Honest: Background investigators value honesty above all else. Be forthcoming about your past experiences, including any past legal issues or employment terminations. Review Civil/Criminal Record: Check your own civil/criminal record to ensure accuracy.

The answer to a good security question should be obvious. In addition, it should be easy to remember, but at the same time remain secret to others. The answer should be immediately remembered as soon as the user receives the security question.

When you receive a request to respond to Special Interrogatories, the opposing side is asking you to answer a series of questions and to swear your answers are true under oath.

How do I deny interrogatories? ›

If you are unable to answer an interrogatory because it is too vague, ambiguous, or somehow objectionable, you can state an objection and the reason for your objection. You must then answer to the extent the interrogatory is not objectionable.

Interrogatories are written questions sent by one party in a lawsuit to another party in that same suit, which the responding party must answer under penalty of perjury. Interrogatories allow the parties to ask who, what, when, where and why questions, making them a good method for obtaining new information.

The formally correct response is to say the same words back: “How do you do?” You say this only on the first occasion that you meet the other person. When you meet them again you can say, “How are you?” to which the answer is “Fine/Well, thanks, and you?”

Interrogatories are often preferable to depositions for identi- fying such things as witnesses, documents, the dates and sub- stance of transactions and conversations,3 since a deponent may easily forget or overlook relevant information when an- swering such questions.

However, you can object to interrogatories that call for legal conclusions. You can also object to questions if they are not at all related to the court case. To object, you need to write out the reasons for the objection instead of answering the question.

If you are unable to answer a specific question because you don't know or don't have access to the appropriate information, you must indicate the reasons. You may refer to a previous response when responding to an interrogatory providing the previous response sufficiently answers the later interrogatory.

Unduly Burdensome, Expensive, or Oppressive

You can object to an interrogatory if the expense or burden of answering outweighs its likely benefit to the opponent.